MANILA, Philippines – When Loreto Miles Moscoso III fell into the shark-infested waters in Port Everglades, Florida, he thought he would never make it out of the sea alive, especially because no one had seen him fall off the cargo ship he was working in. He later credits his second life to perseverance and godliness…

Photo credit: GMA7 Kapuso Network / Facebook

Moscoso graduated from Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation at John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation (JBLCF) Bacolod in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. And he would call on everything he learned from school and at work when he fell off the waters after an accident at work.

According to Moscoso, he was tasked by the Chief Officer of Vega Sagittarius, a 456-foot Liberian-flagged container ship, to un-lash the cargo containers to prepare for discharging while they were waiting for their pilot. The ship was moored at the time at Port Everglades, Florida.

There were two others helping him at the time, the boatswain and a deck trainee; though the two were around 6-8 meters away. It was 5AM and still dark outside when the accident happened.

“As I was positioning. I started to unloosen the turning buckle. I stepped back for me to be able to get the right amount of force without realizing that I have nothing to step on. As I fell, I tried to hold on to whatever I can but there was none. I fell with my right back hitting something hard then splashed in the water,” Moscoso narrated.

Photo credit: GMA7 Kapuso Network / Facebook

Despite the pain on his back and the fact that he had taken in a lot of seawater, he had the presence of mind to try and swim away from the ship’s massive propellers. While swimming away, he did his best to shout as loud as he could, “Man overboard!”

But the fan at the cargo they were unbuckling had been loud near where he had fallen off, and it was still dark; thus, no one appeared to notice that he had fallen off the cargo ship. He was drowning and in so much pain that he was almost ready to give up, until he saw a light that seems to be pulling him to the surface. He believed it was God.

Photo credit: GMA7 Kapuso Network / Facebook

So, he took off his coverall and safety shoes as these were adding to his weight. As the coverall floated away, he realized that his radio was there! But it was fast disappearing and was soon out of his reach. His only hope of contacting the ship was lost.

He saw boats and yachts some distance away but no one heard his cries for help. The buildings on land were too far for him to swim to but he knew he had to try.

“I don’t know how far I have already swam when I saw a huge shark. It was twice bigger than me. I was so scared. Yes, I was swimming for an hour already but I never expected to see a shark. So what I did I remained calm and continued to swim. While I’m swimming, it circled around me like it was thinking, ‘What the h*ll is this thing?’ I knew however that if it eats me, there is nothing I can do but feed its belly.

After a few minutes, it swam away. However, it returned, circled me again. Despite the fear, I remained calm and continued praying. Then it swam away and then came back, circled me and swam ahead of me.

Then it swam away and never came back. Still I didn’t lose chance. I swam and swam not knowing the hours ran so fast.”

That was certainly one of the scariest moments in his life! Thankfully, the shark didn’t come back after that. Four hours after he fell, he saw a helicopter heading towards his direction. It appeared to be searching for something – and he knew he was going to be saved!

Photo credit: GMA7 Kapuso Network / Facebook

He cried as they pulled him to safety. “You were a MIRACLE son!” the coast guard said, telling him he was swimming in the shark-infested waters for 4 hours! He was rushed to the hospital where he was also treated for dehydration.

Moscoso feels eternally grateful for his second life. As he shared his story, he also reminded everyone to never lose faith in God.